Sunday, September 1, 2013

Empty Nesting

It's Monday morning and for a change I'm right on top of things. I've planned my dinner. I've baked cakes for this week's birthdays.

Raspberry and white chocolate - my kitchen smells great.

I've planned tomorrows dinner (which was going to be tonight's until I was inspired to make something different). My laundry is empty of washing. My house is tidy. And I've got just a little time before I need to start work to write.

And the reason for me being so together and organised? I have no idea.

It could be this -

This is the bedroom of my #2 son. And at the moment it's immaculate. Neat. Tidy. Floor able to be walked on without fear of twisting my ankle on some hidden peril under dirty clothes. And it's going to stay this way for the next three weeks. We put him on a plane to Taiwan yesterday for a holiday with his girlfriend. I'm sure he's going to have a great time being shown around Serena's home town. And I'm going to have a refuge just in case I need to escape from a noisy bed.

The bedroom of my #1 son is in a similar state. He's doing prac work for his degree at a hospital at the Gold Coast and so he's away from Monday to Friday for the next few weeks.

The only one left at home is Luke (#3). It's almost like we're empty-nesters. And can I say I'm quite enjoying the novelty. Tidy house. Less cooking. Fewer groceries to lug upstairs and not running out of things so often during the week so less trips to the store needed.

The only negative is that there's fewer people to eat my baking. And the leftovers. There's been quite a lot of leftovers because I'm not used to cooking for less than five people. Thank goodness we've got dogs and a hen - giving them the leftovers is way better than throwing them out.

Actually there is another negative - in as much as I'm loving the peace and order in the house I'm missing my boys/men. I've spent the morning wondering if Josh made his connecting flight from Manila to Taipei and worrying (just a little) that he'd be nervous or lonely because he's doing this first flight by himself. I'm expecting that I'll hear from Serena within the next couple of hours to say he's arrived safe and sound. And I miss having Sam fill me in on his day every evening.

At least I have training to keep me occupied. And being so organised means I have extra time to put my feet up and rest - I seriously needed that this weekend. I had another 32k (20 mile) run on Saturday and it was a shocker. Actually it wasn't entirely a shocker - just the last 5k. I'm not sure what the issue was but with about five k to go we stopped at a water bubbler and I started to get light-headed. I had to keep moving so I wouldn't faint. When we started running again, it all seemed way too hard and when I finally made it back to our starting point I felt giddy again and a bit nauseated. The rest of the day and a lot of yesterday I was just tired, headachey and a bit sick but today I'm feeling pretty good again.

I'm not sure what was causing the vertigo. Could have been that I had low blood sugar. Or was dehydrated (it was our first warm and humid run for months). We may have taken it out too fast. I may have still been feeling the effects of last week's race. Or I may have had a virus. Either way I'll be taking it very cautiously this week and pulling back on the intensity.

Bummer on the vertigo - glad you plan to take it easy and be careful for a few days!!I can't even imagine the empty nest thing - I used to say it wouldn't bother me but as the boys get older and the time gets closer I'm pretty sure that I will struggle!!!

Sorry to hear about the vertigo. I've no experience with it but I hope it was low blood sugar or the heat or something equally fixable. Enjoy that (temporarily)empty nest! That will be a big transition for sure.

Yes during a run, even during a race. And always caused by heat. It had me DNF twice. I just don't handle heat. After a couple of times this happened I have decided I won't be running anymore in hot weather. If I have a race planned and it's going to be hot, I just don't go. It's not worth it, I have almost fainted a couple of times.

Probably dehydrated a bit with body temp and heart rate not 100%. I hope you are fine now. We were talking about how we need to send the kids away for some days just this weekend. We feel we need an empty nest for s change. :)

Ooooh goodness I hope that doesn't happen again. I have vertigo but mine is related to my tinnitus and only rears its ugly head every few years - thankfully it never affects my running.Enjoy the quiet time, it never lasts for very long.

I do have problems with vertigo and it is horrible so I feel for you. Stay hydrated but apart from that, I can't help, they have never really gotten to the bottom of mine. Mine definitely doesn't happen with running, since I amble, rather than run. I'm wondering if perhaps you weren't getting enough oxygen though? I've fainted when I've been in stuffy areas like churches and schools, and also when I've been standing too long or have overdone it with exercise. I was diagnosed with something called Meniere's after pregnancy, so that might be something you want to google. I don't believe I have it now, but the feeling tired the next day sounds familiar. I'd go to the doctor if it happens again. Take care of yourself x

PB's

5k - 22:3010k - 46:2921.1k - 1:40:2942.195 - 3:53:53

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

About Me

An insight into the life of a work-from-home Mum who's obsessed with running, making leotards and cupcakes and, of course, looking after a menagerie of 1 husband, 3 sons, 2 dogs, 2 hens and a cockatiel.